Ask HN: Do you think this is a good business idea? Rent your luggage

http://itworld.com/mobile-amp-wireless/76964/upcoming-service-lets-you-travel-without-luggage

by ankeshk • 17 years ago

3 7 17 years ago

yan• 17 years ago

Slightly off-topic, but why isn't every major purchase not rentable? Like zipcar for everything from vacuum cleaners, video projectors, to lawn mowers and everything else you use very rarely.

I don't like owning stuff; I find it to be a burden. How come I can't rent things that are expensive and needed rarely? I don't see a reason why the world has N vacuum cleaners when only N/m for some large value of m are being used on any given day. I'm not saying we need a global pool of vacuum cleaners, but no reason a neighborhood can't have like half dozen that people rent/share.

noodle• 17 years ago

vacuum cleaners aren't that expensive, so renting them out might not be a very good business plan unless you do it with larger items. and thats already a business.

http://www.rentacenter.com

weatherboard• 17 years ago

http://www.rentoid.com/

RiderOfGiraffes• 17 years ago

I always travel without checked luggage. My wife and I did 6 weeks in South Island New Zealand in winter having travelled hand luggage only.

The discipline is difficult, but worth cultivating. If you can't be bothered, perhaps this service is for you.

ankeshk• 17 years ago

I am very intrigued by this idea. But I'm not sure if people would rent clothes or not.

I know one thing: the company will have more success if they joint venture with just one specific chain of hotel - at least initially. Will allow them to scale with grace. And will get the hotel to promote their services too. (Rent luggage while you're booking your room online. Just one extra step. No need for 2 different transactions.)

And also - a lot of people will end up buying the stuff they've rented out - and this revenue can be shared with the hotel.

byoung2• 17 years ago

I would think most of the bulk in a checked bag is clothes, which people aren't going to rent. I'm not sure what else they had in mind to rent.

I think the virtual closet would be a great idea though if you split your time between two cities.

run4yourlives• 17 years ago

Hrm, not sure.

If I'm travelling somewhere for a short duration that requires a hotel/change of clothes, it's easy for me to just bring a carry on. 9 times out of 10, I have to bring my laptop anyway, so it's not a huge deal to carry a small travel pack with a laptop, change of clothes and a toiletries kit.

Any more than that and I want luggage, so the service is useless.

I'm not sure if I'm the idea target market, but I'm not sure I see any real value here.

Ask HN: Do you think this is a good business idea? Rent your luggage

Related Stories